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Having been knocked by "Blue Valentine," we're eager to see writer-director Derek Cianfrance's debut film. Can anybody out there spare $300,000 to make that happen?

"Brother Tied," Cianfrance's debut effort, won all sorts of acclaim while making the festival rounds in 1998, but the film never got proper distribution because he couldn't afford to secure the rights to the litany of '50s doo wop on the soundtrack. So a single 35mm print has been just sitting there in his dad's basement.

‘Brother Tied’ is the story of a brotherhood by blood challenged by a brother of friendship. Cal and Aaron are two brothers whose already strained relationship is pushed to the breaking point when Cal befriends his African-American barber, Cassius. The two men attend Cassius’ Christmas party; but when Aaron goads Cassius into a fight, Cal sides with his friend, not his brother. Ostracized by his mother and sibling, Cal becomes more deeply involved in his friendship with Cassius, who is similarly estranged from his family. But when Christmas time rolls around again, Aaron strikes back, hurtling the three of them down a path of vengeance, redemption and tragic dissolution.

“It’s unbearable to watch, because it’s trying so hard to be cinematic in a show-offy way,” Cianfrance told Indie Wire (by way of The Playlist). “I was a little pretentious and I had a chip on my shoulder and I wanted to prove myself. But it marks a time in my life as a person and a filmmaker. It’s like a tattoo or a scar. And as you grow as a filmmaker, your work represents where you are as a person.”

Watching the trailer, you can understand the sentiment, it is a bit arch and showy. But, hey, we'd still like to see it. Can't they put "Brother Tied" on KickStarter.com or something?